Like I'd Ever Say No
by Alli Elizabeth
Summary: Just a little one-shot that serves no purpose other than being cute and totally deserved. Kaoru rules. Kaoruxoc Kaoruoc : It's short, I warn you! Rated T for the hell of it.


"KIRI!!"

"AAH!!" I scream as the twins pop up, glomping me from my sides. I take a breath to put my heartbeat back at it's normal rate. I sigh, 'Not even three steps in the door and they scare the living daylights out of me...' "Why do you guys have to do that? You're gonna give me a heart-attack one of these days. And then, you know what's gonna happen? I'll be dead. And it'll be both your faults," I say, not really being dramatic, but making something up to make them feel even just a teeny _tiny _bit guilty.

They glance at each other before hugging me even tighter. "NOOOOO!! NOT OUR LITTLE KIRI!!" they scream in unison.

I laugh and hug them back, one of my arms around each of their shoulders. "Don't worry. I plan on sticking around for a while... Unless you two scare the bajeezers outta me first..." I joke, still laughing.

They realize I was kidding and laugh with me. "Yay!" More hugging. Eh, not like I mind; I love hugs. ^-^

When they finally decide to let go of me, Tamaki comes prancing up, "Ah! Kiri, my princess!" and tries to pull me into a "huggle-twirl" as I call it.

Hikaru and Kaoru step in front of me, arms crossed. "No! This one's OURS, Lord. No touch!" they declare together, each laying one arm across my shoulders.

Tamaki, of course, runs off to his "Emo Corner" and starts growing mushrooms.

I laugh again, before poking both the twins in the stomach, making them flinch. I then duck out from between them and pop up next to Haruhi, who'd been watching the whole scene from a few steps back. "HARUHI!!" *glomp*

She actually giggles, "Hi, Kiri. What's up?"

I giggle, too, and let go of her. "Not much, just the usual," I reply. I look behind me and see Hunny devouring cake, Mori just sitting there contently. I wave over at them, "Hey Hunny, Mori!"

Hunny pauses and looks at me with a big smile. "HIII!!" he calls, waving back. Mori gives a small smile and waves back as well.

I turn around just as the "Shadow King" makes his entrance. "Hehe, Hi Kyouya," I greet, giggling slightly.

He nods at me, not looking up from his notebook, still scribbling away.

This is basically how things go every day. I always show up just before the customers, so I help bring out sweets and what not to them. If I'm lucky, I don't have to wear some form of maid-outfit, usually going with the cosplay theme of the day/week that the hosts use. Tamaki and the twins _swear _that they look "cute" on me. Ick. I don't really mind it all that much, but I guess I don't have much... uh... what was it? Oh yeah! Self-esteem! Yeah, that's it. I just don't really feel all that confident in my own skin, I suppose. Heck, I shouldn't even HAVE to wear what they tell me; I volunteered to help out here for free. I just wanted something to do after school, and I knew Haruhi had a debt to pay off, so I'm helping bring in customers by spreading the word about upcoming cosplays, AND I serve the cakes and tea.  
I hear the door squeak open slightly and look at the clock. 'They're here. Right on time, as usual.' I put on a sweet smile and go to the back room, ready to work. From there, it's all just bringing sweets to tables and serving tea, with the occasional chit-chat with one of the girls. While there have been a few "princesses" who dislike me because I spend so much time with the hosts, most of the girls who come in are very nice to me, sometimes even asking me to join them at their tables, which I do every so often. I guess being around the boys practically 24/7 makes female company very refreshing. I mean, yeah, there's Haruhi, but she can't act like a girl most of the time. That leaves me. Yay.  
As the last customer leaves, I shut the door behind them, then sigh tiredly. I lean backwards against the door, catching my breath; today had been pretty busy. I spot the twins on one of the sofas, talking about something or other. One of them gets up and goes into the other room, and I make my way over to the couch. I flop down, my head landing on the remaining twin's lap. Normally, I can tell them apart, but I really didn't look at who was left on the couch; I just dropped. Hey, I'm freaking exhausted, man.

I hear him laugh from above me, "Tired, Kiri?"

'Kaoru.' "No, not at all. I'm just lying here because I have nothing better to do, Kaoru," I answer sarcastically.

He pauses. "You didn't even open your eyes... How'd you know it was me?" he asks.

"Your voice. Duh." He doesn't answer after that, just starts petting my head, like I'm a cat or something. "Meow," I murmur, just as a joke.

He laughs and continues. "Hey, Kiri?"

I still don't open my eyes. "Mhmm?"

"I wanted to ask you something..." Kaoru trails off.

I open my eyes and turn my head, looking up at him. "What's up?"

He looks down at me smiling. "Do you wanna do something tomorrow? Like... just the two of us?"

I tilt my head as best I can from my position, then sit up slowly. "You mean... like a date?" I ask, slightly surprised.  
I see his face turn pink as he answers, "N-No! I mean, not if you don't want it to be. We could just hang out or something..."

'Why is he stuttering?' I smile at him, choking back a giggle at his nervousness. I glance at the clock on the wall, before looking back at Kaoru, whose face is still pink. I stand up off the couch and turn to him. I lean down and give him a peck on the cheek, "A date sounds like fun, so, yes, I'd love to, Kaoru."

He blushes even brighter, but ignores it and smiles back at me. "Great! I'll come get you around 2. Is that good for you?"

I giggle, "Perfect." With that, I wave slightly and walk to the door, grabbing my messenger bag on the way out. As I walk down the stairs toward the exit, I smile to myself, my mind going into slight day-dream mode. 'I have a date with Kaoru tomorrow... Ah, _what _am I going to wear!?'


End file.
